The present disclosure relates generally to methods, systems and computer program storage devices for generating a response to flooding.
In one specific example, the present disclosure relates to methods, systems and computer program storage devices for generating one or more operational responses to flooding.
Flooding, and especially flash floods, often create conditions that slow traffic and cause major congestion and delays on expressways, highways, and other regional transit systems. Moreover, urbanization, shifts in land use patterns and related changes in surface permeability have reduced the ability for the ground to absorb precipitation, which lowers the peak run-off and causes an increase in the likelihood of a flood.
In the recent past, severe storms have impacted several large cities around the world, producing floods and significant property damage due to the lack of adequate flood warning systems. Such problems have occurred in major cities around the world. For example, the New York City metropolitan area was impacted by a mesoscale convective system (“MCS”) in August 2007, with rainfall exceeding three inches in less than two hours in some areas. The subway system was partially closed due to flooding, streets were impassable, and over two and a half million people and numerous businesses were affected. A similar flooding event happened in July of 2007 in London. The flooding significantly impacted the Underground transportation system during the evening rush hour leading to the closing of many tube stations and forcing riders to utilize overcrowded buses.
In the United States, average annual flood losses have nearly tripled since 1950 from $1.5 billion to more than $4 billion. In the 1990s alone, average annual flood losses have exceeded $7 billion. Between 1995 and 1999 alone, flood damage topped $40 billion. In the United Kingdom, flood damage during the summer of 2007 exceeded 3.2 billion British Pounds.
Due to climate change it is likely that heavy and highly variable precipitation events will increase in frequency in regions already vulnerable to flooding events. Coastal regions will also be at an increased risk for flooding as sea levels rise and the frequency of coastal storms increases. The cost associated with the damage from flooding is likely to rise and the number of people affected by flooding will increase.